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There were small moments where the wind ceased to blow, causing the snow to stop swirling. It was obvious then who the men were then. Somehow, the pursuers had anticipated their movements and cut them off from the path. Dusk thought for a moment that maybe Tara or Garrett had tipped them off somehow, but it seemed unlikely. There would have been no reason to trudge through a blizzard if they wanted to turn him in for the gold. Either way, he continued to stare through the darkness at the figures until Tara caught his attention.With a small hand signal to follow, she led them to the left of the path and between two broken walls that looked as if they had once been the small outside garden of a residence.
“There’s no way around them if we stay on the main path,” Tara spoke as loud as she dared. “From here the path begins to wind and it’s too sheer to climb the rocks outside of it.”
“What do we do?” Dusk asked, still clutching Maribel’s halter.
“There is one other path, but it won’t be easy.”
“Where?”
“Through the ruins. I’ve been here twice before. It’s the same path they make the new trainees hike to build stamina, but there won’t be anybody on it this time of year. It’s going to be tough, but we should be able to make it.”
“We’re going to go off the trail?” Lex asked incredulously. “We were very specifically told not to go into the ruins.”
“By some superstitious farmer I’m sure. The locals love to tell ghost stories.”
Dusk watched as Lex clamped his mouth shut, knowing she was right.
“If there are no further arguments,” she looked to Lex, “then follow me.”
Tara began to plow through the snow once more, but this time at a much slower pace. All about them were crumbling walls and collapsed remnants sticking out of the drifts. But below the deep snow there were loose stones and debris. The snow had swirled around into drifts, leaving sweeping curves that showed no hint of what might lie below them. Maribel tripped many times, snorting in frustration, and Dusk was worried she might break her leg as they snaked through the ruins. It wasn’t long before Tara turned them back to the slope of the mountain and forced them to continue upwards at a much steeper angle.
The city that had once stood there had been carved into the mountainside in terraces, almost like stairs. The buildings were clustered together in flat levels, connected by steeply-sloped streets. A few of them still had arched doorways that remained although most had collapsed long ago. Only the most structurally sound parts remained. It was slow going, but the further they climbed, the more the storm seemed to slow, much to their relief. When they finally came to the last small gathering of buildings, the wind had died down and fat snowflakes drifted lazily downwards, coating the tops of their cloaks.
“This is as far as we go tonight,” Tara commanded. She pointed to the ruined buildings. “We’ll take shelter in one of these. It will be better than sitting out in the cold at least. The rest of the path is too steep to take at night.”
Lex and Dusk were too cold and too tired to argue as she led the way. The building she chose was more intact than the others and the walls were higher. Through the partial doorway they could see that a section of the roof had been preserved. The vaulted stone and two columns were still standing, creating an area just big enough for them to sleep under, although Maribel would make a tight fit if she chose to lay down. As they walked through the doorway, Dusk noticed that the covered corner seemed to be heavily shadowed, especially near the floor. As they drew nearer he almost thought he could see it moving, like his eyes were playing tricks on him in the dark. It wasn’t until he saw a large clawed paw shift outward and a wide head look up that he realized it was alive.
It was a creature that Dusk had never seen before. It had a rotund body and thick, stumpy legs ending in curved claws longer than his own hands. It’s face was a splash of white fur melting into the black matted shag that coated the rest of its body. The fur stood up along its spine as it lumbered forward. Large bony tusks jutted from it’s upper and lower jaw, creating a terrifying maw full of sharp teeth that seemed too large to fit. The eyes glowed an icy blue in the dark as it reared back on its hind legs standing more than ten feet tall. It started at them all for a moment and suddenly let out a barking roar that made Dusk’s blood run cold. Maribel jerked the halter from his hands as she reared back. He didn’t have time to pull his bow off his shoulders before it attacked.
Tara unsheathed her sword in a flash, running for the creature and shouting a battle cry that rattled the snow loose from the stones. The beast seemed almost surprised by her reaction and hesitated for just a moment, giving her time to run her blade across it’s chest, splattering the white snow with red. The creature cried out in pain and charged at her, lunging forward with the massive claws that looked as if they could rend a tree in half. Maribel ran out of the ruin into the snow, disappearing into the dark. Dusk turned back just in time to see Tara be struck hard in the chest and thrown across the room into the wall. She slumped down to the floor unmoving, the blade lying at her side.
Lex ran forward while the monster was distracted and jammed his blade into its back haunch. A roar of pain sounded as it spun around and gave a great cuffing blow to Lex, lifting him clean off his feet. Dusk felt his hand come up to the warm crystal against his chest. Help me was all he could think, but there was no voice inside his head. Please help me, he shouted inside his own mind, but there was no answer.
“Help me!” he cried out. But there was nothing.
He looked to the creature slowly closing in on Lex’s limp body lying in the snow. Realizing he would have to defend himself and his friend this time he took the bow off his back and knocked an arrow. Without taking a moment to aim he shot it at the large creature, knowing he couldn’t miss such a massive target.
The arrow struck the beast in the back of its shoulder, burying itself into the thick muscle. It wheeled around and snapped the arrow with a lazy swipe of its paw, turning its attention on Dusk. Slowly it began to lumber towards him, growling and snarling as it closed in. Dusk drew another arrow and pulled it back, feeling his arm muscles shaking from the strain. He was waiting for the right moment, knowing this would be his last shot.
The creature came closer, its hot stinking breath assailing Dusk’s senses. When it was within a few feet of Dusk it reared back on its hind legs. Glistening strings of saliva ran from its jaws as it growled through its teeth. On either side of it Dusk could see Tara and Lex, both unconscious from the blows they had been dealt. He hoped they were still alive, but if he didn’t finish this, it wouldn’t matter. Keeping the string fully extended he pointed the arrow up at the beast. It roared at him as it lifted a paw high to strike with the deadly claws, sticky strings of saliva falling over Dusk’s bow and arrow. He loosed the arrow as the paw came towards him and it flew true to his intention. In the blink of an eye the arrow leapt from the bow and through the roof of the creature’s mouth, the iron tip sticking out the top of its skull.
The paw struck Dusk heavily on the side of the head, throwing him to the ground as the monster crumpled into a pile of fur and muscle. To Dusk’s relief he landed in a large snow drift, breaking most of his fall, but his ear was ringing and his thoughts were distorted. He looked up, trying to focus on the beast. He could just make out it wasn’t moving. His vision swam around him and he felt nauseous. The bitter cold seemed further away somehow as he closed his eyes. He gave himself permission to lay in the snow for a while and try to shake off the heavy blow. The fresh powder was soft and contoured to his body, almost like it was a bed made just for him. He felt the urge to settle in. He just needed to rest for a while.
Unsure if he passed out or fell asleep, the sound of metal dragging across stone brought him to his senses. He glanced up, his head throbbing with the movement, and saw the blurry shape of Tara getting to her feet. The world spun around him, but with effort he could focus on her. With slow and careful movements he pushed himself to a sitting position, leaning against the snow drift to keep upright. The wind was picking up and the snow began to swirl around once more. Dusk watched as Tara limped a few steps and gave the creature a kick. When it didn’t react she turned to Dusk, walking over to his side.
“Can you stand?” she asked, squatting down in front of him, wincing as she made the quick movement.
“I don’t think so,” Dusk replied, a hand held to his ear that was still ringing. He could feel blood frozen in his hair. “Not for a while anyway.”
“Give me your arm.”
Dusk did as he was told. Tara wrapped her thick callused fingers around his forearm and dragged him easily through the snow, leaning him up against the dead beast who was still warm. She walked over to Lex and gathered him up in the same fashion, placing him next to Dusk.
“Keep yourselves wrapped up. I know where the soldiers keep a stash of supplies in case of emergencies. Hopefully it’s still there.” She emptied out her large pack into the corner under the overhang and wrapped her things in a blanket. Throwing the empty pack over her shoulder she said, “I’ll be back in ten minutes,” and walked out of the shelter of the dilapidated walls.
She was gone only a few minutes before Lex began to stir next to him. Dusk had done his best to make sure they were both wrapped tightly in their cloaks, but still he was worried Lex was getting too cold. Dusk pulled a blanket out of his own pack and slowly wrapped it around Lex, listening to the soft groans of pain. Dusk threw an arm around him and made sure the fabric was blocking most of the wind.
“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling Lex’s hood up.
“Something... something doesn’t feel right with my arm,” Lex mumbled. Dusk could see it hanging loosely at his side, held up only by the cloak’s fabric.
“Tara will be back soon, she might be able to help.”
Another groan was all that answered him as Lex let his weight rest against Dusk and the creature behind them. The wind howled across the tops of the walls, driving more snow in between them. Already the drift Dusk had fallen into was starting to rebuild itself. All around their tracks were being wiped away and the blood hidden under a fresh layer of snow. Just when Dusk was about to ask Lex if he was too cold, Tara returned carrying a now-full pack and a small bundle in her arms.
She knelt down beside them in the snow. “Has he spoken?” she asked, dropping the pack on the ground roughly.
“Yes. He says something feels wrong with his arm. It looks strange.”
“We’ll fix that in a moment, come here.” From the bundle in her hands she produced a small roll of cloth and began to slowly wrap it around Dusk’s head. Her touch was more gentle than he anticipated. When she was done she grabbed the sides of his face and tilted his head from side to side, checking her work. “You’ll be fine, but that’s gonna be sore for a while.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s look at his arm.”
Dusk gently pushed Lex upright and unwrapped the cloak. On his right side his arm was hanging limply at an odd angle. Carefully Tara unfastened the cloak and his clothing until his bare skin was exposed to the cold. His shoulder was completely dislocated.
“I’m going to need you to hold him steady. Good thing he’s asleep because this is going to hurt really fucking bad.”
Dusk complied immediately, doing everything he could to brace Lex. Grasping him by the forearm, Tara slowly rotated it to the front. Lex groaned although his eyes remained closed.
“Hold him tightly. Ready? One, two, three!”
With a sharp pull Dusky heard the sound of the shoulder pop back into its joint. Lex cried out in pain, his eyes flashing open for a moment. But before he could make a sound he slumped back down again. Immediately Tara began to create a sling with the spare cloth, tying his arm across his chest as if it were broken.
“Heart of stone, this one,” she gestured to Lex sarcastically as she finished wrapping him up. “I don’t blame him though. Being awake for that is much worse. Wrap him back up for me.”
Dusk moved around slowly and refastened Lex’s shirt and leathers, then his cloak on top of it and the blanket, making sure he was protected from the cold. He was starting to feel more stable and carefully brought himself to a standing position. Tara was standing a few feet away, her leather armor on the ground in front of her. She was prodding at her ribs purposefully with a single finger. When she got to one of them she hissed through her teeth, swearing into the wind.
“Fuck!”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” she snarled, more at the ground and less at Dusk. “It might be broken. Dammit!”
With one arm she carefully took off her shirt and tossed it to the side. Dusk turned his head to look away immediately as she began to wrap cloth around her ribs.
“You! I need your help to tie this off!” she cried after a moment.
“But... you’re...”
“Gods above us! I’m sure you’ve seen a naked woman before! Get over here!”
Dusk did as he was told, but he kept his eyes on the ground the entire time.
“Make sure it’s tight,” she commanded. “No matter how I react.”
“Yes sir.”
Dusk gave the knot an extra tug to tighten it.
“Fuck you! Goddammit!”
He continued to tie until it was finally secure. “It’s done,” he murmured before heading back over to Lex and taking a seat in the snow next to him.
With his head turned towards the ground he wrapped himself tightly in the spare blanket from Lex’s pack as Tara redressed and put all her armor back on. He kept checking Lex to make sure he was covered up until Tara was next to him again. She picked up the pack without a word and turned it over, spilling a large bundle of dry chopped firewood out onto the snow.
“Where did you find that?” Dusk asked, not trying to hide the look of joy on his face.
“I told you, the soldiers train here. They keep a stash of supplies in case of emergencies,” she grinned slyly. “And they never change their hiding place it seems.”
“Is there more?”
“This will be enough for the night.” She began to build a small stack of logs in the sheltered section of the ruin. “Some of the trainees get hurt on the climb and then some...” she trailed off as she continued to build. “Anyway, they keep supplies up here in case someone is hurt or can’t make it off the mountain for a couple of days. It looks like they recently restocked, but I’d rather leave it there in case someone else needs it too.”
Dusk heard a soft sadness in her voice. A longing for something. He didn’t know if she had lost someone or if she missed days of the past, but something took the normal sharp edge off her words for a moment.
“Get that worthless twat over here so I can use him to block the wind.”
And there she was again, back to her usual self.